PEORIA — Something about the proposed management change at two Downtown Peoria hotels doesn’t add up. More numbers are needed.

That appeared to be the consensus of City Council members who addressed the issue Tuesday night.

“One of our dilemmas is that we haven’t had any information,” at-large Councilman Chuck Weaver said about the request regarding the redone Marriott Pere Marquette and soon-to-open Courtyard by Marriott.

The $100 million renovation and construction projects included about $35 million in various forms of public money. That necessitates council approval of the management change hotel developer EM Properties is proposing.

The East Peoria-based developer intends to switch management from Marriott International Inc. to First Hospitality Group, a suburban Chicago firm.

“When we have this much money at risk, we need to see numbers,” Weaver said.

The council took no action. No vote will be forthcoming, apparently, until some questions are answered, according to City Manager Patrick Urich.

He said the city has spoken with some of the other project lenders, who also are to sign off on the change. But a meeting of all affected parties has yet to take place.

City staff also has to perform additional research regarding FHG and its ability to manage hotels the size of the Pere and Courtyard. Combined, they are to have about 400 rooms.

“From the city’s perspective … we have made a considerable investment,” Urich said. “We want to make sure as we go forward on this that the city’s rights are protected.”

The Pere Marquette reopened last June. If management changes, it and the Courtyard are to retain the Marriott name.

As he has done previously, Urich said he didn’t believe a management change was unusual. At-large Councilman Ryan Spain didn’t appear to agree.

“This is a peculiar request, in my opinion,” he said.

“One of the things that’s striking about it is in the many years and many meetings we’ve discussed this project, one of the things we were repeatedly told is the distinct advantage is that it would be operated by Marriott. That would bring us additional benefits that are tremendously powerful. In that context, this seems odd.”

At-large colleague Beth Akeson echoed Spain’s concerns about the power of the Marriott brand. She wondered why abandoning that management would be beneficial.

“With that team comes standards and vendor relationships that Marriott has cultivated,” Akeson said.

Urich suggested real-estate and financial entities involved with the project need to render their decisions prior to a council vote. Weaver tended to agree. But he also said meeting in small groups with those groups might be appropriate.